Council members seek answers surrounding Frey's employment history

Cincinnati's city manager shared the latest information with council members Thursday regarding former CODE president Diana Frey's city employment history.

"[There is] no evidence to date that Mrs. Frey used city facilities or city assets to conduct her alleged criminal activities," shared City Manager Milton Dohoney. "Neither is there any evidence that any other city employees had knowledge of or were involved with her alleged criminal activities."

Dohoney went on to emphasize that no city money is involved in the investigation into missing funds. In fact, he says Frey did not have access to any city accounts where embezzlement would have been a possibility.

Even still, some council members are frustrated over records showing Frey did not fulfill her city duties as outlined in her contract.

"This is just such a failure of the system that it has gone on and on," councilwoman Amy Murray shared.

"I do believe that red flags were ignored, it's obvious to me that they were ignored," added Councilman Wendell Young.

Personnel records obtained by Fox19 show Frey's supervisor had questioned, on multiple occasions, Frey's failure to show up to work.

While Diana Frey's contract with the city required her to split her time between city and union work, city officials say records show in 2010 she did not clock any of the hours required for her city job.

"This person allegedly got paid for producing no work," Young said. "That is just not tolerable and just cannot happen again."

Frey had asked the city to be allowed to spend all of her time doing union business like the city's FOP and fire union presidents. The city's administration, however, refused the request multiple times saying the nature of CODE did not merit the allowance.

"What clearly is merited is a better accounting of what time they do have," Dohoney said.

Some council members question, however, whether or not enough is being done to guarantee taxpayers' money is going to good use.

"I need to know that it can't happen again," Young said. "I don't believe we're at that point yet."

Another question that remains is how Frey got hired in the first place after being convicted of a felony.

"This is what worries me," Murray said. "From the city's viewpoint and from the union there were a lot of assumptions. I mean, she just fell through the crack in every possible way."

"The administration simply cannot speak to protocols or practices that took place 15 years back," Dohoney said.

"Right now its immaterial," argued Young. "The important thing is that we're in a position in this city where we will not put a person in a sensitive position without having properly vetted that person."

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